All things writing Hit A Brick Wall . . . help needed

[janicemac]

Determined to finish revisions on a manuscript (contemporary romance) I was making great progress until suddenly wham . . .I hit a brick wall and absolutely can't think. In the past (and a different country) I had writing friends I could call to talk me through these blocks/I did the same for them. Would love to find that same sort of thing here. Anyone? You'll save me from bingeing on junk food and hating myself!

 

[Lynette4tie]

I might be able to help.

 

[janicemac]

Hi Lynette, thanks. I'm having problems with revisions on the last three chapters. I want to make some changes from the first draft, rewrite and re-order some of the scenes, but I can't seem to get it to work.

 

[Pam Çemen]

Janice, Have you tried outlining the changes you want to make? I use Excel and put a short description of each scene (or partial scene) in a line. It makes it easy to rearrange them until they make sense. Good luck. You can do it, just dive in.

 

[Lynette4tie]

It might help to break everything apart and see why it's not working. Perhaps something happens that shouldn't happen or vice versa. Try taking a break for a few weeks to let your mind clear.

 

[Leslie]

I like Lynette's advice. It's also worked for me. When I do this I write down the elements on Post-it notes and use my wall as a plotting board. It lets me move the elements around and helps get me out of the detailed editing mode I drop into when I am stuck.

 

[Lynette4tie]

Wow! What a great idea. Thank you for that advice.

 

[janicemac]

Hi everyone, sorry for the belated reply, life has been a bit distracting lately Great suggestions though. I do know it helps to take a break--even overnight, things that seemed all wrong, don't look quite so bad after a night's sleep. I hope I've moved on from the brick wall; I ended up looking at the scenes that weren't working and writing out the goal and outcome for each one which helped clarify things. Thanks again, glad I found this site.